In this era of instant access and dueling hot takes, everybody rushes to judge who won any trade. The Nets’ dealing James Harden to Philadelphia was no different.
First, Brooklyn by a hair. Then, the 76ers in a landslide. Now? If Harden really does bolt back to Houston? With the former MVP looking set to flee Philadelphia for nothing, and Ben Simmons still yet to get healthy or right for the Nets, the more accurate question might be: Did anybody win? And what team lost worse?
Harden is opting out of his $35.6 million player option for next season, according to Yahoo, and expected to return to the Rockets in free agency, per the Philadelphia Inquirer. If it happens — fresh off Harden reportedly getting coach Doc Rivers fired — it would close the door on the 76ers’ end of this much-scrutinized deal.
And it would be just the latest power move artfully connived by Harden.
The star’s mother is in Houston — as are his businesses, his home and, in all likelihood, his heart. And with the Rockets flush with $60 million in salary-cap space, a Harden reunion seems likely — which could make them the big winners.
It was only after eight years of coming up short despite an MVP and three scoring titles that Harden demanded a trade. Brooklyn paid a king’s ransom of Jarrett Allen, Caris LeVert, three first-round picks and four swaps to pair him with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving in a faux dynasty that quickly went down the drain.
When Harden tired of Irving and the Nets in February 2022, he forced a move down the New Jersey Turnpike for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks.
Simmons — whom the 76ers could’ve dealt for Tyrese Haliburton just before the trade deadline — was supposed to be the perfect defensive complement for Durant and Irving. Instead, he spent last season sidelined and this season struggling, back surgery reducing him to a shell of his All-Star self. A very pricy shell.
Though Simmons is the only Net who has made an All-Star Game, that’s a sobering reality for a franchise that had Durant, Harden and Irving to find themselves in.
Now Brooklyn goes into the summer with more hope than proof that Simmons can get back to that level. His averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 boards and 6.1 assists, all career-lows, before a bad back shut him down after just 42 appearances.
The Nets appeared runway losers in this swap. Down I-95, pairing Harden with Joel Embiid, the 76ers’ bar was clear: bring a title to Philadelphia. But he’s only brought two second-round exits before (presumably) making his own exit. And with no path to replace his scoring and playmaking, that exit would be devastating.
Despite clearly showing his age, Harden still led the league in assists, and Philadelphia won’t have the cap space or flexibility to replace him after trading the Nets two first-rounders. That’s why they’re so desperate to re-sign him, Daryl Morey reportedly firing Rivers largely to please the free agent-to-be.
Ask the Nets how empowering the wrong star works out when the star gets unhappy.
Philadelphia’s gambit was a win-now move, and a title would’ve made them the clear winners no matter what happened elsewhere. But if Harden leaves, they will have never even gotten close, with their end of the ledger tallied up.
Brooklyn’s story is still being written — and with Drummond gone and Curry seemingly likely to follow, it’ll largely be defined by Simmons. His contract is one of the most bloated in the NBA in terms of return-on-investment. Now it’s on the Nets to find a way to salvage Simmons and make the best of this situation.
Neither they nor Philadelphia can walk away saying they won this trade. If Harden ends up returning to Houston — playing at home, alongside the picks he was traded for — the Rockets might be the real winners.